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Well Read

Blaine Harden, Escape from Camp 14 (#102)

Chronicling the life and remarkable prison camp escape of North Korean Shin Dong-hyuk, Harden unlocks the secrets of the world's most repressive totalitarian state. [26 minutes]

This episode has not aired in the past few months on Iowa Public Television.

Series Description: WELL READ opens up a world of ideas through host Terry Tazioli's discussions of the latest books and his conversations with noted authors. Following each interview, Seattle Timesbook editor Mary Ann Gwinn (former VP of the National Book Critics Circle) joins Tazioli to explore the literary themes of that week's book and to recommend related authors and other reading material.

Weaving her own experience with remarkable new discoveries, renowned author and advocate Grandin discusses the science of autism and gives dos and don'ts for parents raising autistic kids. [26 minutes]

Rin Tin Tin leapt onto the scene in the 1920s as a star of stage, screen and TV. But this legend was a dog, and Orlean provides a poignant exploration of the enduring bond between humans and animals. [26 minutes]

Tavis Smiley is most noted as a talk-show host and author. He has hosted "Bet Talk" (then "BET Tonight") on BET, "The Tavis Smiley Show" on NPR, and is currently hosting two shows: "Tavis Talks" on BlogTalkRadio's Tavis Smiley Network and "The Tavis Smiley Show" on PBS. [26 minutes]

A two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof has developed a specialty in international reporting on human rights abuses and social justice. He and his wife Sheryl Wu Dunn shared one of the Pulitzers and they are co-authors of the bestseller "Half the Sky: From Oppression to Opportunity for Women Worldwide." Their new book is "A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity." [26 minutes]

English novelist David Mitchell's new novel "The Bone Clocks" has also been long listed for this year's Booker Prize. His novel "Cloud Atlas" was made into a movie starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. [26 minutes]

"The Dog" is one of 13 longlisted novels for this year's Man Booker Prize. O'Neill's 2009 novel "Netherland" won the Pen Faulkner award for fiction. He's also the author of "Blood-Dark Track: A Family History," about his Turkish and Irish grandfathers' encounters with political violence. [26 minutes]

This past fall, Amy Bloom's new novel "Lucky Us" was the lead fiction title for her publisher, Random House. In addition to being a critically acclaimed novelist and a trained psychotherapist, Bloom is the co-creator of the Lifetime TV show "State of Mind." [26 minutes]

James McBride is one of the most critically acclaimed African American authors working today. In 2013, he won the National Book Award for fiction for his latest novel "The Good Lord Bird," and his memoir "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to his White Mother" was on the New York Times best-seller list for two years. [26 minutes]

Jodi Picoult is one of America's most popular novelists. Her novels about families and relationships have sold an estimated 14 million copies worldwide, and two of her novels, "Nineteen Minutes" and "Change of Heart," debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times hardcover fiction list. [26 minutes]

Author of "The End of Oil" and "The End of Food," Roberts writes about the intersections between economics, technology and the natural world. Publishers Weekly said "The End of Oil" "may well become for fossil fuels what "Fast Food Nation" was for food." [26 minutes]

Irish author Colm Toibin is a prolific prize-winning author. His novel "The Master" won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (with a 100,000- pound purse), plus many American awards. He's a professor at Columbia University. [26 minutes]

A prize-winning American novelist, essayist and nonfiction writer, Smiley won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel "A Thousand Acres," a retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear story on an Iowa farm. [26 minutes]

Louise Penny is the Canadian author of a series of books featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Wildly popular, Penny's books are regulars on the New York Times Best Sellers list. She has won a number of awards for her writing, including the Agatha Award for mystery writing - four years in a row. [26 minutes]

Bryan A. Stevenson founded and directs the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit in Montgomery, Alabama. His stinging critique of the U.S. justice system in his novel, "Just Mercy," is drawing praise and acclaim from many quarters. Stevenson is a professor at New York University School of Law and has won countless awards and recognition for his work in behalf of the poor and people of color, including the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant. [26 minutes]

Marlon James has written 12 books, including "The Book of Night Women, " which won the 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. His first novel, "John Crow's Devil," was a New York Times Editor's Choice and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Commonwealth Prize. His new book, "A Brief History of Seven Killings," explores the attempted assassination of Reggae superstar Bob Marley. Born in Jamaica, James teaches at Macalester College in Minnesota. [26 minutes]

John Henry Lanchester is a journalist, novelist and non-fiction writer living in London. He is a contributing editor for the London Review of Books and has seven books to his credit, including "Capital, " a best-selling novel immersed in modern economic times and troubles. His first novel, "The Debt to Pleasure," won England's Whitbread Award for best first novel and was named a New York Times Notable Book. [26 minutes]

Anne Lamott has written a number of books, including four New York Times best-sellers - "Grace (Eventually)," "Plan B," "Traveling Mercies," and "Operating Instructions." She is an essayist and avid contributor to her site on Facebook - with more than a quarter of a million followers. She says of her writing, "Books, for me, are medicine." [26 minutes]

Considered one of the best-known science fiction writers in North America, is out with a new novel William Ford Gibson has written or collaborated on 12 novels and a number of short stories. He has been called the "noir prophet" of cyberpunk and is often credited with coining the word cyberspace. His first novel, "Neuromancer," won the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award and the Hugo Award after it was published in 1984. [26 minutes]